Drama in Biology

A picture is worth a thousand words. An animation is worth a thousand pictures. Acting is worth a thousand animations. Allowing the students to act out a biological mechanism increases their comprehension of the mechanism. Involving them personally in a three dimensional world allows them to think of the mechanism from the perspective of the molecule they are playing in the context of neighbouring molecules in the milieu of the cell. They can now understand the limitations, the challenges, the potentials and the beauty of the biological mechanisms. This allows the students to unleash their imagination and creativity which will allow them to explore and come up with novel mechanisms or solutions to old problems.
In addition to learning life lessons that apply to our community from cellular mechanisms that are all the more clear when acted out.
Drama examples include:
A. Short acts: Student groups acting in front of the class
1. Cilia movement
2. DNA replication
3. DNA transcription
B. Plays: Full plays with script and actors
1. Receptor mediated endocytosis
2. DNA replication

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